Reply to St. Alban's Chorister Program After Voice Change

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our DS in in 3d grade @ DCPS.  He sings in our church children's choir, plays an instrument, and enjoys musical theatre.  We were recently asked if we had looked into the National Cathedral choristers program, which we had heard about but weren't familiar with.

Looking at the website, it appears that boy choristers must start off as novices in the beginning of their 3d grade year.  Can older boys join as novices, for instance in their 4th grade year? Or are tryouts limited to 3d grade students boys only? I fear that we are too late for both the chorister tryouts and the St. Albans application process this year.

Given the heavy chorister after-school time commitment, do choristers also participate in after-school sports? If so, how do they manage the choir rehearsals and sports practices? Do they conflict?

We are very interested in the choristers program but also worry that it involves such an intensive time commitment -- that it would preclude our son from participating in other extra-curricular activities.  We also worry that the rigorous St. Albans workload coupled with the chorister commitment would translate into a high school schedule for a primary school child.

Finally, wondering if there are chorister alums who transferred to different high schools, once they aged out of choir? If so, how was that transition?

Very eager to hear from other chorister families.  Thanks.

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The Chorister program is an amazing program.  The music education is on another scale altogether.  And the opportunities to sing in addition to the Cathedral services -- which by themselves are an incredible experience -- are jaw dropping (Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Vice President's House, etc.).

But yes it is INTENSE.

The Chorister Program tries to work closely with the school to avoid or minimize conflicts.  But yes, if there is a choir commitment and a sports commitment, choir trumps sports.  That said, every year there are at least 1-2 boys who are tremendously talented athletes, who participate not only in school sports but travel/club team commitments.  It is not easy to coordinate all of this and school, but it is do-able, and one of the many great things the boys necessarily learn as a Chorister is time management.

Most of the boys who age out of the Chorister Program stay with the school.  At that point, they have become such a fabric of the STA community, that it is hard to transition out.  It does happen, but usually for the boys for whom academics were already taking a heavy toll.  I would say the overwhelming majority of the boys do stay through graduation, and along the way they put their musical skills to great use, in the form of participation in the many different choir and singing groups in high school and musical theater.

I have always found the Chorister boys to be some of the most well-rounded and highly accomplished boys on the Close.

Good luck!

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